ARC review

Piper at the Gates of Dusk is the first book in a new dystopian sci-fi trilogy that follows on from Patrick Ness’ wildly popular Chaos Walking series - set 20 years into the future. There is a new generation on the planet, shared with a powerful Indigenous race with whom a tentative truce is shared, and that includes the sons of Todd and Viola, Ben and Max. Their peace is shattered when a strange sickness overcomes the planet’s young people and the humans are split on where to point blame. Their infighting, partly caused by prejudices some older members of the community hold against the Indigenous group, distracts them from the fact their children are disappearing one by one.

Have I read Chaos Walking? No, but I went in obviously knowing that there would be spoilers from the original series (at least in who lives and dies) and I was okay with being lost. I was pleasantly surprised to find it super easy to slip into the world and I had all the information I needed pretty quickly. Now, will I be reading Chaos Walking asap? UH-HUH!!! My plan is to pick up the original trilogy before the sequel to Piper comes out. 🏃🏼‍♀️

The story switches POV between the brothers Ben and Max, one who is non-speaking and communicates using a device and the other is trans. They have distinct voices from one another and I absolutely love both of them. Their bond really ties the story together. They have led different lives to their parents but you can see how their parents’ trauma has informed the way they’ve been raised. Todd and Viola take a backseat but what I know definitely makes me want to find out where it all started.

The plot has so much stuffed in that it should feel like too much for a short-for-the-genre novel, but it really doesn’t!! My favourite part aside from the characters is folktale-esque story, that’s events are now playing out in the real world.

Stakes? Sky high. 📈 Tension? Palpable. 🥵 Mystery? In abundance. 🕵️‍♀️

This a timely release with strong themes of propaganda, colonisation, power struggles and the dangers of a divided society. These topics are handled with incredible nuance and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

NOTE: I rated this book 4.75 stars and it probably would have been 5 stars but a HP reference early on left a bad taste in my mouth. Dear authors and publishers everywhere, WE DON’T WANT THIS!!

I think this is marketed under the thriller genre and it definitely is, but it read more like literary or contemporary fiction in my opinion, it’s a good mix. There’s also a great sense of humour and a healthy dose of satirical criticism of the publishing industry thrown in.

Fruit Fly follows two characters: Mallory - an author with one hit to her name and no ideas for the next one Leo - a young man struggling with addiction and trading sex for his next hit Reddit tells Mallory the ingredients for a bestseller today are sad, gay, dark. So naturally she decides to make a Grindr account to seek out some inspiration, leading her to a party and more importantly Leo. Leo’s tragic backstory and life on the margins of society is just what Mallory needs to return to the limelight, so she goes undercover as his therapist while adapting his story for her new novel.

I love Fruit Fly because it kept me on my toes!! I could not have guessed where the story would go, largely because Mallory and Leo are both unpredictable for different reasons but both out of their own kind of desperation. Leo is living under a bridge with a crippling addiction and no savoury way to fund it, so he goes through waves of withdrawal and using that trigger erratic behaviour. Mallory feels her career slipping through her fingers and takes risks to follow this new pursuit secretly from under the thumb of her controlling husband. They are both victims of circumstance and it’s like a car crash you can’t look away from because they KEEP doing awful things! These characters are not even in the same orbit until Mallory starts living a double life and I loved watching them think they were both playing the other (is that a micro trope?? If so it’s a fave).

This book is a phenomenal deep-dive into addiction, family violence and cycles of abuse - the central theme being exploitation vs inspiration. In one word: binge-able! I have never struggled with substance abuse so I can’t comment on whether the experience Leo portrays is accurate, but it felt raw and unfiltered and didn’t shy away from the harsh reality. I think fans of any genre will enjoy and take value from this story.

ARC review

Aubey wants to Die by Pip Knight is a vampire rom-com-esque thriller and it was genuinely FUN to read. This book isn't normally something I would pick up so I'm very glad I read it!! Aubrey has been alive for a looooong time thanks to her human life ending when she turned into a vampire. She has spent most of that time, mostly alone thanks to the vampire who turned her abandoning her, trying to figure out how to die. She finally felt like she had a reason to persist when she met Jonathan, her soul-mate, who also just broke up with her. Not to mention, Oscar the aforementioned vamp who turned her, is back to assert control over the life he gave her. This whole story toes the line between light and dark, hilarious and morbid, and I was pleasantly surprised to find plot twists that ACTUALLY made my jaw drop.

Aubrey is definitely cringey at times but I think she's supposed to be perpetually a millennial so that tracks. I really empathized with her struggle to find her people and avoid loneliness. I think the author wanted to make a monster who was as human as possible and they succeeded! I also enjoyed the sprinkling in of pop culture references through the ages (which I normally detest) and how you could tell different eras had influenced Aubrey's personality and demeanor.

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this author and similar titles in the future!